HB 212: Clean Energy Production Tax Credit Act; enact

Georgia currently has no specific income tax credit for producing clean, zero-emission electricity. House Bill 212, called the Clean Energy Production Tax Credit Act, would add one by filling in a previously reserved section of state tax law (O.C.G.A. § 48-7-40.10). The credit would go to 'eligible persons' who produce electricity at a 'qualified facility,' defined as a Georgia facility placed in service after July 1, 2025 with a greenhouse gas emissions rate of zero or less. The credit equals 3 cents per kilowatt hour sold, consumed, or stored, and it cannot exceed the taxpayer's tax liability or be applied to past years. Unused credit can be carried forward three years. Credits can also be sold or transferred once to another Georgia taxpayer, who must pay at least 60 percent of the credit's value. The Environmental Protection Division must publish emissions rate tables annually, and the law would apply to tax years beginning on or after January 1, 2026.

• Creates a new state income tax credit of 3 cents per kilowatt hour for electricity produced at qualifying zero-emission facilities in Georgia.
• Limits qualifying facilities to those placed in service after July 1, 2025 and only for the first 10 years after they start operating.
• Allows unused credit amounts to be carried forward for three years but bars using the credit against past years' taxes.
• Lets eligible producers sell or transfer their tax credits once to Georgia taxpayers, who must pay at least 60 percent of the credit's value.
• Requires the Environmental Protection Division to publish annual tables of greenhouse gas emission rates by facility type for use in claiming the credit.
• Directs the Georgia Department of Revenue to write rules for administering and verifying the credit.

Companies and individuals who build or operate zero-emission electricity generating facilities in Georgia, Georgia taxpayers who might buy transferred tax credits, the Environmental Protection Division, which must publish emissions data, and the Department of Revenue, which administers the credit.

The credit could make it more financially attractive to build zero-emission power facilities in Georgia by lowering their state tax bills, and the transfer option lets producers without enough tax liability still benefit by selling credits to other taxpayers for cash.

• Section 1 names the law the 'Clean Energy Production Tax Credit Act.'
• Section 2 defines 'qualified facility' as one placed in service after July 1, 2025 in Georgia with a greenhouse gas emissions rate of zero or less, eligible for up to 10 years.
• Section 2 sets the credit at 3 cents per kilowatt hour of electricity produced and sold, consumed, or stored by an eligible person.
• Section 2 caps credit use at the taxpayer's income tax liability for the year and allows a three-year carry-forward for unused credit.
• Section 2 permits a single transfer or sale of unused credits to a Georgia taxpayer, who must pay at least 60 percent of the credit's value, and requires notifying the Department of Revenue within 30 days.
• Section 2 requires the Environmental Protection Division to annually publish greenhouse gas emissions rate tables by facility type.
• Section 3 sets the effective date as July 1, 2025, applying to taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2026.

1. 2025-02-04House Second Readers (House)
2. 2025-02-03House First Readers (House)
3. 2025-01-30House Hopper (House)

• Samuel Park (D, HD-107)Primary sponsor
• Tanya Miller (D, HD-062)
• Karla Drenner (D, HD-085)
• Ruwa Romman (D, HD-097)
• Tangie Herring (D, HD-145)
• Jasmine Clark (D, HD-108)

• clean energy
• tax credits
• climate policy
• energy production
• state taxes